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The Council of States Has Delivered – After the Summer Break, Political Perseverance Counts

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clarus.news | Analysis | July 14, 2026

by Thierry Leserf, Ernst Anker and Andreas Binggeli

The Council of States demanded more digital sovereignty with 30 to 7 votes. Since then, things have been politically quiet. But the decision was only the beginning. After the summer break, the motion will first go to a National Council committee. Meanwhile, the army of all institutions is showing that exits are feasible. By winter at the latest, it will become clear whether the strong signal will turn into binding policy.

The Applause is Over

On June 10, 2026, the Council of States adopted Motion 26.3221 by Heidi Z'graggen. The result was 30 to 7, with one abstention.

The motion demands an impulse program for digital infrastructures, open source, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence. State, economy, and academia should jointly build pilot projects.

Our contribution from June 11 showed the contradiction. Political will is growing, as is technical dependency.

The Swiss Government Cloud is expected to cost a total of 319.4 million francs by 2032. According to our analysis at the time, around 68 percent of usage could go to foreign hyperscalers.

The New Digitalization Platform of the army also remains technologically dependent on Broadcom/VMware. The army set the launch for July 1, 2026. The comprehensive test will follow with the "EOS26" exercise in autumn.

So the Council of States has pressed the start button. However, the system continues to run with foreign key components.

The Real Decision Comes Later

After the summer break, the autumn session begins on September 14, 2026. It runs until October 2.

Nevertheless, the sovereignty motion won't automatically appear in the National Council chamber. It has been assigned to the Committee for Science, Education and Culture of the National Council, the WBK-N.

The official business list lists Winter 2026 as the processing deadline. The winter session begins on November 30.

This is more than a scheduling issue. The committee will decide what recommendation the National Council receives. There, the impulse program could become a serious mandate. But it could also shrink to a friendly funding vehicle without impact.

Switzerland has enough time until then for another working group. That's exactly why public expectations are needed beforehand.

The Federal Council Warns Against Dependencies – and Provides the Best Counterargument

The Federal Council wanted to reject the motion. In the Council of States, Economics Minister Guy Parmelin represented this position. The reasoning goes beyond a mere savings argument.

In its written statement, the Federal Council refers to existing programs, the Swiss AI Initiative, the "Alps" supercomputer, and the "Apertus" AI model. An open office work environment for emergencies is also planned.

Targeted promotion of individual technologies could create misguided incentives. It could even create new long-term dependencies. Moreover, the federal government lacks financial flexibility.

The objection must be taken seriously. State funding must not cultivate favorite providers. A Swiss logo alone doesn't make a product sovereign.

But the Federal Council is unwittingly describing today's problem. Long-term dependencies already arise through procurement, licenses, and lack of exit options.

The crucial question is therefore not: Who receives funding? It is: Which systems remain operational if a manufacturer fails?

The Army Pulls the Plug – At Least Partially

The army, of all institutions, shows that this question can be answered practically. The Cyber Command is replacing Microsoft 365 with the open-source solution Opendesk. The changeover is to take place as early as October 2026. The Federal Chancellery has confirmed the project. We reported on this today.

The trigger is the Cloud Act. According to federal guidelines, classified military documents may not be processed in M365. This makes the Microsoft solution largely unusable for everyday military operations. Major General Simon Müller, head of the command, says: Companies under such laws are "no longer usable for certain military contexts." The command also no longer wants to be exposed to aggressive licensing strategies.

Important context: It's a partial exit. The Cyber Command doesn't encompass the entire army. And the NDP remains built on Broadcom/VMware for now.

Nevertheless, the step is a precedent. It answers the first question of the sovereignty test in field trials: Yes, a switch is feasible – if the will is there. Anyone who claims in future that an exit is impossible must explain why the cyber troops are doing it right now.

The civilian side is more cautious. After an assessment with the Bern University of Applied Sciences, the city of Zurich rejects an immediate switch. However, it plans a practical test in a productive environment in 2026. The federal government itself wants to decide on its open office work environment ("BOSS") by the end of the year.

A three-speed race is emerging: The army migrates, Zurich tests, the federal government decides.

Bern Shows Why Public Pressure Works

The Epic case makes the same question visible in healthcare. The Insel Group introduced the US clinic system in 2024.

The known total costs amount to around 228 million francs. This includes 182.5 million for implementation and 45 million in operating costs until 2032.

The original tender mentioned 83 million francs. However, the Insel Group disputes a cost overrun. It refers to an expanded scope of services and different comparison bases.

On March 2, 2026, the Grand Council rejected a formal investigation as a postulate by 93 to 58 votes with one abstention. The Business Audit Committee nevertheless began its own assessment.

Even more important is a recent development. The Government Council has postponed the revision for the cantonal health platform for now. Questions from the consultation are to be clarified first.

External investigations by Eraneos and Deloitte were completed in April 2026. Now hospitals and data protection supervision are to be involved. After that, the Government Council will act again.

This refutes the comfortable thesis that public pressure achieves nothing. It doesn't replace a decision. But it prevents it from being made silently.

Our earlier contribution "BAG Prohibits, Bern Procures" therefore remains relevant. However, it needs clarification: Bern has not yet definitively decided on the Epic expansion.

Not a US Ban, but a Sovereignty Test

The Federal Office of Public Health wanted to exclude providers under foreign legal dependency for the Swiss Health Data Space. The Cloud Act, a US access law, was the apparent background.

The Federal Office for Buildings and Logistics warned against a blanket exclusion. Such a requirement could conflict with WTO procurement law.

But this doesn't end the debate. It has simply been framed incorrectly so far.

Instead of sorting providers by their passport, every critical procurement needs an operational sovereignty test. This must apply equally to Swiss, European, and American companies.

A system should pass five questions:

  1. Can it continue running during a crisis without the manufacturer?
  2. Can all data be completely and documentedly exported?
  3. Are interfaces, formats, and dependencies openly described?
  4. Does the public sector have sufficient knowledge and rights?
  5. Is the exit technically rehearsed and financially planned?

Such requirements are origin-neutral. They protect the state better than a label and can be objectively justified. The Cyber Command will provide practical proof of this from October.

Federalism is Not the Problem

Criticism of federalism must not tip into centralism. Decentralized systems can be more resilient. A single national monosystem would itself be a concentration risk.

The sensible formula is therefore: operate decentrally, connect bindingly.

Cantons may choose different solutions. But these must meet common interfaces, data formats, and exit rules. Otherwise, diversity becomes a pretext for 26 incompatible dependencies.

Digital Administration Switzerland can only recommend such standards today. An external evaluation confirmed the limited reach.

The federal government and cantons want to change this. Since December 2025, a constitutional basis for binding standards has been in preparation.

This is right, but slow. France is already tackling the "bigger box". Switzerland, meanwhile, is migrating a jurisdictional question into consultation.

What the WBK-N Must Now Demand

Approval of the motion is not enough. The WBK-N should publicly clarify five points before the National Council debate:

  • Inventory: Which critical systems depend on individual foreign manufacturers?
  • Measurable goals: Which dependencies should actually decrease by 2030?
  • Binding tests: When will the operational sovereignty test become a procurement standard?
  • Tested exits: Which major systems have a financed and tested exit plan?
  • Clear leadership: Which body may set standards and monitor compliance?

There's also a second parliamentary mandate. Postulate 25.3659 by Brigitte Häberli-Koller demands a systematic analysis of foreign dependencies. It was referred to the Federal Council.

The Federal Council also wants to address its own measures for digital sovereignty by December 31, 2026. Motion, postulate, and Federal Council work are thus running simultaneously.

This presents an opportunity. But it also offers three ways to pass on responsibility.

The Calendar of Political Pressure

In autumn, the army will test its new platform. In October, the Cyber Command begins migration to Opendesk. At the same time, the WBK-N will deliberate on the motion.

In winter, the National Council is to decide. By year's end, the Federal Council owes its own measures – and the decision on the open office environment BOSS.

These processes must be brought together. Otherwise, Switzerland will get a report, an impulse program, and an exercise. Dependency will then remain the only fully integrated system.

After the summer break, it's therefore about more than funding. It's about binding rules for billion-franc projects. The cyber troops have shown what a first step looks like.

30 to 7 was the easy part. Now the vote on the consequences begins.

Key Points

  • Motion 26.3221 first goes to the WBK-N. The official processing deadline is Winter 2026.
  • The Army's Cyber Command is replacing Microsoft 365 with Opendesk from October 2026 – a partial exit with signaling effect.
  • The Federal Council must address its own sovereignty measures by the end of 2026.
  • Bern has postponed the planned Epic legislative revision and is examining open questions.
  • Critical procurements need origin-neutral and verifiable exit criteria.
  • Federal diversity only works with binding standards and open interfaces.

Critical Questions

  1. Will the WBK-N recommend the motion unchanged for adoption?
  2. Will the National Council link funding to measurable sovereignty goals?
  3. When will the federal government publish its complete dependency analysis?
  4. Which exit scenarios are being practically tested for SGC, NDP, and health platforms?
  5. Will the Cyber Command meet the Opendesk deadline in October – and what will the federal government learn from this for BOSS?
  6. Will the planned constitutional revision contain binding procurement and interface standards?
  7. When will the Bern GAC present its Epic assessment?

Sources (verified July 14, 2026)

This contribution was researched with AI support and editorially reviewed. Editorial responsibility lies with clarus.news.

#Parliament #Procurement #OpenSource

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